Arancini with Fresh Mozzarella , Petit Pois and Toasted Pistachio

These arancini are deep-fried risotto balls stuffed with fresh mozzarella, peas and pistachios.  That description alone was enough to sell us on the concept.  They take some time to assemble so don't make our mistake and start the process at 8:00 on a weeknight.  That being said, if you have the time to prepare these, the results are well worth the effort.  They are crunchy, creamy, and gooey all at the same time, with wonderful Italian flavors that make a fantastic dinner.  If you are lucky enough to have fresh peas in the garden now, so much the better.   Fresh chickpeas, another vegetable we're harvesting now, would make a delicious alternative.

Fresh Mozzarella, Petit Pois and Toasted Pistachio Arancini
from Food and Wine December 2009


Ingredients

2 1/2           Tbs              unsalted butter
1                                     small onion, minced
1 1/2           cup               arborio rice
1/2              cup              dry white wine
                   pinch            saffron threads, crumbled
                                       sea salt and black pepper to taste
3                 cups             vegetable stock, warmed
3                 Tbs              parmesan, grated
1/2              Tbs              unbleached A.P. flour, plus more for dusting
1/4              cup              plus 2 Tbs milk
                   pinch           nutmeg
4                 oz                fresh mozzarella, finely diced
1/2              cup              plus 2 Tbs chopped, salted pistachios
2                 Tbs             petit pois or baby peas, removed from pods
2                                    eggs, beaten
1 1/2           cups            panko bread crumbs
                                      vegetable oil for frying
                                      deep fryer or thermometer


Procedure

1. In a large saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until well coated with butter. Add the white wine and saffron, season with sea salt and black pepper and cook, stirring, until the wine is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add the warm stock 1/2 cup at a time and, stirring constantly between additions, cook until it is absorbed. The risotto is done when the rice is al dente, around 25 minutes total. Stir in the grated cheese, transfer to a bowl and let cool.
2. Melt the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan. Add the 1/2 tablespoon of flour and whisk constantly over moderate heat for 1 minute. Add the milk and cook, whisking, until thickened. Add nutmeg and set aside to cool completely. When cooled, add mozzarella, pistachios and peas.
3. Line a sheet pan with a silpat or parchment paper. Put the eggs, panko and flour for in 3 separate shallow bowls. Using lightly moistened hands, shape the rice mixture into 16 equal balls. Working with one ball at a time, make an indentation in the center with your finger and press the sides to make the hollow larger. Spoon a scant tablespoon of the pistachio filling into the hollow and press the risotto around the filling to enclose it. Transfer the ball to the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining risotto and filling. Roll the risotto balls in the flour, tapping off the excess. Then roll them in the egg, and last roll them in the panko.
4. Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer or pot to 350°. Fry the arancini, turning occasionally, until golden and heated through, about 6 minutes. Remove to paper towels to dry, then serve hot.

Vintage platter in photo is "Raffia" pattern by Vernonware

Farro, Asparagus and Pea Soup

Farro is not always easy to find, but it is well worth the search. It is a hulled wheat imported from Italy with a nutty flavor and dense, chewy texture.  Farro holds up extremely well in soup, and combines well with many vegetables.  This soup has been a star at our restaurant this winter, selling out every day it's been on the menu.

At home, we make this soup with parsley and arugula from the garden.  You can use fresh or frozen peas, and the soup can be made as spicy or mild as you like by adjusting the quantity of red pepper flakes.  The first time we served  it, my mouth was on fire but most of our customers thought it was perfect.  This is Texas after all.   The recipe below is for a mild version, but feel free to adjust based on your heat tolerance.

Farro, Asparagus and Pea Soup

Ingredients

1/2            cup            farro
3               Tbs            olive oil
1/2            cup            Italian parsley
1/8            tsp             red pepper flakes
                                  or up to 1/2 tsp if you like heat
4                                 garlic cloves, choped
8               oz              new potatoes, peeled and cubed
4               oz              arugula, stemmed and chopped
1               cup            peas, removed from pods
3                                asparagus spears, thinly sliced crosswise
4               cups          vegetable stock
                                  sea salt and black pepper to taste
                                  optional:  parmesan or feta cheese

Procedure

1. Cover the farro with cold water and cook until tender.  This will take at least an hour.
   
2. While farro is cooking, saute parsley, red pepper, garlic and potatoes in the olive oil until soft and golden brown, about 15 minutes.
3. Add arugula, peas, and salt and pepper to taste.  Season with salt and pepper and saute a few minutes.
4. Add cooked farro and stock and bring to boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for another 30 minutes.
5. Season with salt and pepper again, and (optional) serve topped with cheese and a pesto crostini on the side.
   

Get Growing in December

Get Growing

Welcome to our first Get Growing entry.  This series will span 12 months, and is designed to help aspiring vegetable gardeners get out of the kitchen and into the garden.  On the first of each month, we will discuss one garden project for the novice vegetable gardener.  Because we are located in Houston, Texas, our growing conditions differ from many parts of the English-speaking world.  To help guide gardeners in cooler climates, our Get Growing partner is Daphne of Daphne's Dandelions.  Daphne gardens in Boston, and she will be providing monthly advice for Northern gardeners (although her excellent site is a wonderful resource for gardeners everywhere).  For Get Growing in December, Daphne will help you decide what to grow, where to put your garden, the different styles of gardening, and where to buy seeds.  Regardless of where you garden, her advice is invaluable.

Determine Your Gardening Zone

Before getting started on your vegetable garden, establish your gardening zone.  Zones are determined by the average minimum temperature for your area and help you decide when to start your seeds.   We are located in Zone 9, which means our average minimum temperature is 25 degrees.  It rarely gets that cold for more than a few nights each winter. Daphne is located in Zone 6.

You should also know when to expect the last frost of the year.  For Houston, the average last frost occurs by February 15th, but it varies from year to year.  Some years we have no frost at all (which is a bad thing because those frosts help reduce the mosquito population) and others we have several hard frosts.  Last year, the guidelines were way off and Texas had extremely late frosts which destroyed the state's peach crop and many vegetable crops.  Luckily for us, we were hopelessly disorganized last spring and didn't plant anything until April.  So frost wasn't a problem for us, but we also missed the window to grow several spring vegetables and we shortened the life expectancies dramatically of others that were planted too late.

Gardening is a balancing act between starting your vegetables as early as possible and being punished by unseasonal weather.   Northern gardeners have elaborate tricks to avoid these problems such as starting seeds indoors with grow lights, using poly tunnels or greenhouses, and growing in cold frames.  If you need help with these projects, Daphne is the expert.  Here in Houston our biggest problem is the heat, not the cold, so we don't take all those steps to lengthen the growing season.  Instead, we need to start seeds as early as possible to beat the punishing heat which arrives by June each year, killing many herbs and vegetables. 

Click here to find your zone.  Click here to find your average last frost date.

Planting in December (in Houston)

Once you've determined your zone and last frost date, you'll be able to adapt our advice to your own growing conditions.  If you live in L.A. or Orlando, you can probably use our calendar.  Those in Dallas should wait about a month longer for spring planting, and Chicago around three months.

That was painful, but now that the technical stuff is out of the way we can get to the fun stuff, playing in the dirt.   December is the second coldest month of the year, with January just a few degrees cooler.  "Cold" in Houston is summer weather for many.  As I write this I'm wearing a sundress and it is 72 degrees outside, hardly frigid.  But, this is the time for us to grow the vegetables that need cold temperatures to thrive.  If you're only going to plant one type of seed in your Zone 9 garden this month, it should be peas.

Peas

Fresh-picked organic vegetables are always better than what you buy at the grocery, but peas are practically a different species when you eat them straight from the garden.  Peas are also highly productive plants so you will have a large harvest, and like other legumes, peas are "nitrogen fixers".  This means that pea roots actually improve the soil and make your garden more fertile.  A perfect, organic way to have a healthy garden and amazing harvest. 

Peas have a very low tolerance for heat, making them a challenging vegetable to grow in our sub-tropical climate.  There is a very narrow window to start peas here, with most gardeners starting their seeds at the end of December.   There are three types of peas you can grow.  Growing instructions will not vary, so make a selection based on eating preferences and how much space you have in your garden.

• Sugar Snap -- most productive type of pea (therefore requiring the least amount of space).  Both the pod and seeds are eaten.
  

• Snow Pea -- grown for the edible pods, not the seeds.  Less productive than sugar snaps, but many prefer their flavor.
  

• English Pea -- only the seeds are eaten, so this type of pea is bred to produce more seeds of better quality per pod.  Petit pois, developed in France, are small but especially tasty.  It takes a lot of English pea pods to produce enough for cooking, so this type of pea requires the largest commitment of garden space.  It also requires the most time to harvest because the peas must be removed from the pods much like lima beans or edamame.
  

Buy Your Seeds

Every seed company carries peas.  See the column on the right for recommended seed companies, all of which have excellent websites.  We are growing Alderman (English) and Waverex (petit pois) from Territorial and Super Sugar Snap (sugar snap) from Park.  Since you'll be planting at the end of the month, you have plenty of time to purchase your seeds.  If you have never grown peas before, you may want to purchase an inoculant to provide your soil with the necessary bacteria.   This will be sprinkled in when the seeds are planted to help the pea plants fix the nitrogen necessary to thrive. 

Plant, Water and Wait

Pea plants become quite tall, and should be planted at the back of your border.  Choose a location that gets plenty of sun, and drive in bamboo poles or a trellis to support the plants. 

The seeds should be planted at a depth of about 1" and around 3" apart.  The "seeds" will look like shriveled peas, and their relatively large size makes them easy to handle and less fussy than tiny seeds when it comes to planting depth.  The soil should be loose and well-draining.  Well-drained soil is the key to healthy pea plants, so if you have heavy clay soil and/or tropical rains like we do in Houston, consider growing in raised beds.  Keep soil moist until seedlings emerge.  About three weeks later, plant additional seeds in between your existing seedlings.  These younger plants will extend your harvest period by several weeks.

Harvest sugar snaps when the pods start to fatten but before the seeds grow very large.  Harvest snow peas when they are still quite flat.  Harvest English peas when the pods are swollen and round.  For all peas, flavor deteriorates rapidly once harvested (which is why your peas will taste so much better than anything you can purchase).  Don't pick your peas until you are ready to cook or eat them.


Other seeds to start in December (in Zone 9) include:

• Cabbage
• Beet
  
• Arugula
• Carrot
• Garlic (beginning of the month only)
• Kale
• Mache
• Mizuna
• Parsley
• Salad Greens (see our list of Greens for ideas)
• Spinach
• Radish
• Tatsoi
• Turnip
• Yu Choy

Other posts in the Get Growing series

Garden planning, planting methods, and seed selection (Get Growing in December, Daphne's Dandelions)